# High-Speed Rail Is Not “Interstate 2.0” 

September 9, 2009 • Briefing Paper No. 113 

By [Randal O’Toole](https://www.cato.org/people/randal-otoole) 

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The administration has likened President Obama’s high-speed rail plan to President Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System. Yet there are crucial differences between interstate highways and high-speed rail.

First, before Congress approved the Interstate Highway System, it had a good idea how much it would cost. In contrast, Congress approved $8 billion for high-speed rail without knowing the total cost, which is likely to be at least $90 billion.

Second, highway users paid for interstate highways, whereas high-speed rail will be almost entirely subsidized by general taxpayers who will rarely use it.

Third, interstate highways connect all 48 contiguous states and major metropolitan areas. The FRA’s high-speed rail plan consists of six unconnected networks that reach only 33 states and less than two-thirds of the nation’s 100 largest urban areas.

Fourth, the average American traveled 4,000 miles on interstates in 2007. High-speed rail proponents optimistically estimate that the average American would ride the FRA’s high-speed rail system less than 60 miles per year.

Finally, interstate highways improved social welfare by increasing highway safety. In contrast, far from saving energy and reducing pollution, high-speed rail would actually increase energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

For all these reasons, the United States government should not fund high-speed rail. The $8 billion in high-speed rail stimulus funds should be invested in safety improvements, not in new trains and new routes that will add to future taxpayer obligations.

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##### High-Speed Rail Is Not “Interstate 2.0” 

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##### About the Author 

[![Randall O'Toole](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Randall%20O%27Toole.jpg?itok=zmLbyrhs)](/people/randal-otoole) 

##### [Randal O’Toole](/people/randal-otoole)

Former Senior Fellow, Cato Institute

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